


Post-Flower Stress Syndrome

by TacitlyLeaps



Series: Long Road [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous-Gender Frisk, Post-Pacifist Route, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 15:22:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5380118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TacitlyLeaps/pseuds/TacitlyLeaps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Pacifist, Post-SAVE'd young adult Asriel and Frisk on a grocery trip. Asriel has a thing that Frisk helps him through.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Post-Flower Stress Syndrome

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on /utg/ - Undertale General.  
> A decade or so after the Barrier came down.

Asriel suddenly had that look in his eyes. Intense, wide-eyed shock, which was turning into a hollow expression as the seconds went by. Tears welling up, the goat stopping dead in his tracks, his breath seizing. As if he'd forgotten how to breathe, or wanted to stop and just die where he stood. The shopping basket's handle slipped from his fingers, falling down with a thud that turned a few eyes in the aisles. His claw-tipped fingers were twitching ever so slightly, as if trying to clench into a fist, but lacking the strength to do it. 

Frisk could rarely tell what triggered these episodes. It could have been something someone had said on the other side of the shelves, a particular tune coming over the speakers, something that he saw a moment ago while browsing through the myriad of tea packets. In the end, it didn't matter what caused it – what mattered was getting him through it. 

“Asriel?” Frisk asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it through the thick sweater. No response. He'd gone catatonic. 

Setting their own basket down, Frisk pulled Asriel into a tight, warm hug from behind. Just holding him close, one arm over his chest and the other around his waist, head resting on the just-and-just adult goat's shoulder. 

“It's fine, Asriel. I'm here. You're safe.” Frisk whispered into his ear, trying to keep a confident voice. Their lower lip was trembling some – it was agonizing to see their brother go through these attacks, but they had to stay strong for him. Frisk could only imagine what memories were flashing through his head. They had had such a good streak this time, two months and a week since the last one...

“No one's getting hurt.” The human continued, tightening the hug as tears streamed down Asriel's cheeks. He'd started breathing again, but it was in short, shallow, barely audible gasps. It was hard to tell whether it was him fighting to breathe, or not to. “It's not your fault. It wasn't your fault.” 

Frisk glanced at his eyes briefly. They still looked nearly hollow, if a bit red from irritation caused by the tears. It was like he was staring at thousand yard stretch of nothing. His gaze might have looked empty, but Frisk knew that there was more than anyone could comprehend going through his mind. Decades of atrocious memories flashing through every second. Memories of a violent, literally soulless psychopath forcibly processed through the mind of a kind, caring, compassionate man who'd never hurt a fly. 

A concerned customer came up to them, looking like she was about to ask something. Frisk just nodded at her and urged her to just keep going. The human had this under control, or at least that's what Frisk wanted to think.

The arm that had been around Asriel's waist shifted, Frisk's hand grabbing their brother's, fingers intertwining before the arm returned to rest around his waist. Squeezing the furry digits gently, trying to keep Asriel anchored to the real world.

Frisk had tried everything from just ignoring him to trying to slap some sense into Asriel before. Anything but a warm embrace never helped to speed the recovery process along. 

Finally, his breathing was starting to turn normal, and his hand squeezed Frisk's own, albeit weakly. Now he was trying not to break out into sobbing, tears still freely trailing down his furry cheeks, reaching his jawline and flowing down along it towards his neck. It was almost ridiculous how much Asriel could cry – ridiculous but really sweet. He was such a caring soul…

“Asriel.” Frisk tried again, lifting their head from his shoulder to get a quick look of his eyes. Life was clearly returning to them. “You alright, Asriel?” 

“Fr-Frisk…?” He whimpered, fingers squeezing Frisk's much harder now. Almost painfully so. That was good. “I-I...” 

His voice was trembling, the 18-year-old goatman really trying not to just start sobbing out loud. His head was meekly peering around, taking in his surroundings, as if he'd just woken up from a nightmare where he stood. A blush was starting to show through the off-white fur of his muzzle. 

“It's fine, Az. Just take a deep breath. You're safe. No one's hurt.” Frisk reassured, still keeping him in a loving hug. “Take your time. There's no hurry. As much time as you need.” 

Frisk knew that Asriel would later feel crippling shame from having another one of his traumatic flashbacks in public, no matter how much they'd try to get it through to him that it was fine. They hadn't really made a scene, they hadn't broken anything, there's nothing that they could have done to stop the attack from happening. It was nothing to be ashamed of, as Asriel had been told countless of times by now, by Frisk, his family, and his therapist. 

It took a few more minutes for Asriel to get his bearings, and a couple more for him to convince Frisk to let go of him. By the time Frisk did actually let their brother loose from the nearly possessive hug, the goat had a slight smile on his face, wiping the tears from his fur against the sleeve of his thick, striped sweater. “H-hah, I'm still such a huge crybaby...” He mumbled, chuckling a bit as he picked up the basket he'd dropped. Frisk had a big, encouraging smile on their face, giving their brother a playful nudge with an elbow. 

“C'mon, we still got a couple of things to grab. Like, tissues. You keep going through a pack a day, bro.” Frisk teased, which earned a few more chuckles from Asriel, along with him returning the nudge in kind. After taking a deep breath, Asriel was ready to continue by Frisk's side, resuming their shopping trip, a happy Christmas jingle playing in the background.


End file.
